Tag Archives: Social media

For those who’re interested in the subject of providing customer through social media, the following infographic, which was submitted by Circa Interactive, is quite informative. It covers topics like why companies should use social media to provide customer service as well as why American customers themselves seek customer service through social media. So check it out if you’re deciding whether or not to include the use of social media in your customer service repertoire.

Social media is a vital communication platform and key customer service tool for businesses and organizations. Social media provides businesses the opportunities to offer instant customer service and can also help build brand validity, awareness, and exposure to core, niche or mass audiences. Similarly, it can improve customer relations and extend your brands reach across the Web.

The benefits of online businesses have always been clear to me (e.g., the freedom and flexibility, the broad reach to potential faraway customers, etc.). However, recently I noted some massive issues online business owners face – reputation management and cybersecurity.

Internet mobs can destroy someone’s livelihood for years, and an unpopular or misconstrued Tweet (along with bad luck perhaps) can spark their wrath. Such missteps are related to innumerable topics – too many to list. So, I’ll visit the issue of bringing up politics in professional communications for business owners (but much applies to job seekers and employees alike) as I’ve previously discussed it from another angle.

Reputation management: Politics

Business owners must be wary of expressing political views in ways that don’t mesh with their customer base. I don’t know how often cases like this happen but one of my survey respondents wrote that merely unveiling your political affiliation can alienate customers: Read more of this post

During my hiatus, I reassessed my endeavors. One of the joys of maturing involves reconciling lofty dreams that drive you with life’s realities. Dreams keep life from seeming bleak and boring though awareness of time passing by compels you to estimate your chances of achieving them. For instance, I too wish to discover some way, within my own capabilities, to avoid trading time for money. However, realizing I might be wasting time thinking about this, I settled on hope that perhaps someday I’ll have an epiphany (and then I’d share it with you).

However, there are practical steps I can take to decrease wasted time. I thought about what good, realistically, could come of efforts to present myself as a professional online. Like many issues in life, potential results depend on many variables. Some tips follow. Read more of this post

Over the past few months I’ve learned more about various social media tools by sitting in on classes offered in my region through 530 Media Project. Michelle Rogers, content editor at The Record Searchlight/Redding.com, facilitated these classes. By participating, I learned about some platforms that consolidate your activities on other social media sites to give you an overall view (including statistical analysis) of your activities. In this post, I’ll introduce a couple of them: RebelMouse and Klout.

RebelMouse

RebelMouse merges the content you share or like on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, RSS feeds, Pinterest, Flickr, Google+, and LinkedIn. What you receive is an attractive magazine-like, social front page display of your online presence. See what mine looks like below (click to enlarge). Read more of this post

Looking back on over a year’s worth of blogging and social media networking, I’m grateful for all the opportunities that have opened up to me through actively engaging in these activities. I’ve met interesting people and made some valuable connections, and I continue to look forward to more of this! Blogging has also been a fun way to develop my thinking and writing skills. However, I’ve also learned how challenging it is to frequently and consistently develop original content. I’ve followed a number of bloggers who have done so and applaud them all! Read more of this post

For those who’re purposefully looking to maintain a professional image via social media, here’s an infographic that has been going around. Much of this information is based on common sense. However, the percentages reflecting employers’ or recruiter’s emphasis on some social media sites more than others for information about you may be particularly helpful to keep in mind. Hence, you can make an informed decision about where to expend your efforts. Alternatively, for those of you interested in protecting your privacy, some general but important tips appear towards the bottom of this graphic.

For many professionals, the Internet is a valuable supplemental tool for promoting themselves as well as for meeting new and valuable contacts. Like other life phenomena however, building social connections over the Internet is not without risks, and this becomes very apparent when one experiences a rare encounter with a very attached individual. Read more of this post

Want to know what you can do to attract recruiters through LinkedIn? Here are some excellent tips on developing your LinkedIn headline from Donna Schilder at Purdue CCO Blog. There’s much to learn there, so check it out!